Germany outlaws Hizballah as “terror group,” police raid mosques

Berlin has banned all wings of the Iran-backed Lebanese Hizballah, designating the group a “terrorist organization,” in its entirety. This was announced on Thursday by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, as security officials raided four mosque associations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Berlin. They believe up to 1,050 people serve Hizballah’s operations in Germany. Berlin formerly followed the EU line in distinguishing between Hizballah’s political arm and its militia, which serves Iran on all its warfronts. The UK was the first to designate all parts of Hizballah terrorist last year. After years of Israeli and US pressure, the Angela Merkel government was urged to follow suit by the German parliament last December